K-pop artists under SM Entertainment successfully wrapped up their joint concert in China Saturday despite ongoing controversy over its idols‘ defections.

“SM Town Live World Tour IV,” a part of SM’s worldwide concert tour series, was held on Saturday evening at the Shanghai Stadium, China. SM embarked on the concert tour in Korea Aug. 15, followed by Japan Oct. 4-5.

The Shanghai concert brought together a host of K-pop musicians under SM Entertainment -- Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls‘ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet and so on. They individually and jointly performed about 60 hit songs including some Chinese tracks.

The success of the show comes despite a series of incidents that hit the agency hard.

EXO’s Luhan, who filed a lawsuit against SM to terminate his contract with the agency, did not appear at the show. The exact cause for the filing was not revealed and the legal battle is underway.

Jessica, who was dismissed from Girls‘ Generation by SM, also did not participate in the concert. SM confirmed that it released her from the formerly nine-member group due to clashes in their priorities and interests.

Yet SM proved that it stays on a steady course by attracting some 30,000 audience to the concert.

The fans who gathered to get a glimpse of the idols waved flash sticks and held up placards while singing along to the songs and calling out their favorite artists’ names.

The project band S also took the stage and unveiled their latest track “Without You,” from their mini album “Autumn Breeze.” The group consists of popular first-generation idols -- H.O.T‘s Kangta, Shinhwa’s Shin Hye-sung, and actor-singer Lee Ji-hoon.

The SM world tour concert series has made a splash at home and abroad, drawing a cumulative million audience since it kicked off in 2008.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)